The Green party’s membership has jumped by more than 1,000 in a day following a public split between Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana over their new leftwing party. Almost 1,400 people signed up to the Greens in the 24 hours after the disagreement emerged, pushing the party’s membership in England and Wales above 75,000.
The dispute began when Sultana launched a membership portal for the new party, tentatively called Your party, on Thursday. Corbyn responded angrily, describing it as a “false membership system” and referring the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Sultana countered that she had been frozen out by a “sexist boys’ club”.
The Greens have seen a more than 10 per cent increase in members since Zack Polanski won the leadership contest at the start of the month. After his victory, Polanski expressed willingness to potentially cooperate with Corbyn and Sultana’s party, but said it was impossible to know how that might happen given the lack of structure or policies.
In a statement to the Guardian, Polanski said: “My door is always open for conversations with Jeremy and Zarah, two people committed to making our country fairer who I really respect. But today I’m focused on what I can do towards that end, and that’s to keep growing the movement within the Green party.” Sources within Corbyn’s party said efforts were being made to calm the mood and find a way forward, with news likely next week.
